U.s. Clinches Wightman

WILLIAMSBURG — Despite the tradition and regalia of BASF Wightman Cup competition, the fans at William and Mary Hall Friday night tried to inject some spirit into the proceedings.

Section by section, people raised their arms rhythmically in "The Wave" midway through the opening match. If Queen Elizabeth had been at the court, like she was last year in London, she would have been shocked.

Still, the recent Wightman Cup tradition was maintained - the United States winning easily over Great Britain.

Eighteen-year-old Mary Joe Fernandez of Miami, making her first Cup appearance, took only 55 minutes to dispatch Great Britain's Sara Gomer 6-1, 6-2 in Friday's opener of the best-of-seven women's pro tennis competition, giving the U.S. a 3-0 lead. Fernandez and Betsy Nagelsen then clinched the Cup by beating Gomer and Clare Wood 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in doubles.

Play concludes today with a three-match card beginning at 1 p.m. Lori McNeil will play Gomer at No. 2 singles in the opener, and Fernandez will play Jo Durie at No. 1 singles in the second match.

McNeil and Fendick will face Durie and Anne Hobbs in the event's final match.

Fernandez, the world's 13th-ranked player, appreciated her first opportunity to play for her country in women's competition.

She was scheduled to play in the Yanks' 7-0 triumph at Royal Albert Hall in London last fall, but an injury derailed her plans.

"It's just more fun ... it's not for yourself," she said. "I get the goose bumps when they play the (national) anthem. You're a part of something big."

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was an exhibition set between the official singles and doubles matches.

American star Billie Jean King, 45, teamed with 13-year-old Jennifer Capriati for a 7-6 (7-4) triumph over British star Virginia Wade and American team member Patty Fendick.

Fernandez, whose ankle injury contributed to her disappointing loss to Wendy White in the first round of the U.S. Open, reached the Open doubles final in her first tournament with Pam Shriver.

Despite their 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 loss in the final to Martina Navratilova and Hana Mandlikova, Fernandez said the experience helped her game.

"I was a bit down after the (singles) loss, but reaching the final was really exciting," Fernandez said. "It was my first Grand Slam final.

It kept me practicing every day and got my game more aggressive."

Gomer, a muscular 6-foot-2 left-hander, made far too many errors in singles to give herself a chance at pulling an upset.

Fernandez kept Gomer on the run with numerous groundstrokes to both corners and several well-timed drop shots.

"She made a lot of unforced errors," Fernandez said. "She's a big girl, so I was trying to get her moving side-to-side and drop shot. Just run her."

The strategy paid off. Gomer held serve in the opening game, but only won five more points in the rest of the first set. Many times, Fernandez merely watched as Gomer's backhands found the net or forehands strayed wide.

Fernandez said her opponent, ranked 118th in the world, should have attacked more.

"She's got a big serve and she's got good reach," Fernandez said. "Maybe she doesn't like it, but she could pressure her opponents a lot more.

"If I knew she was coming in, I'd have to concentrate on hitting a good return."

After holding her serve in the first game of the second set, Fernandez took command with a break in the second game. Gomer double-faulted at 30-30 before Fernandez won the game with a running forehand that trickled over the net tape.

Gomer earned a brief reprieve by breaking serve when Fernandez missed a forehand long, but quickly lost her delivery to fall behind 3-1.

Fernandez conceded the sixth game for a 4-2 lead, but won the match as a Gomer approach shot near the baseline was called long.